Random thoughts on food, cooking, restaurants, food products, food literature and kitchen equipment by Bobby Jay, a retired lawyer living in New York and Paris.

Monday, July 18, 2016

Paris -- A Perfect Lunch at Le Cinq

We're just ack from nearly five weeks in France, where I was so busy that I was unable to post to this blog. So I'll be catching up over the next few days.

We ate well throughout this period, at restaurants, at friends' and at home, with the aid of the wonderful produce, meat and fish available in the summer.

Our first noteworthy meal was lunch at Le Cinq. As was the case with our first experience there at Christmas, we had a truly sensational meal: great food beautifully presented, with elegant but not over-the-top service, in a gorgeous room at the George V. We brought a Japanese friend who had thought she didn't like French food; she is now a convert!

The four-course lunch is 145 euros (about $160), including service and tax. Not cheap but for the level of experience, it is a steal. After all, the 3-1/2 hours it takes to enjoy this feast is like dinner and a show, which would cost far more.

Our menu included pre-amuse bouches, amuse-bouches, appetizer, main, dessert, post-desserts (the best possible kouignammann, far better than the very good ones we had in Brittany) and post-post-desserts (chocolates, madeleines, fruit candies, marshmellows).

I started out by thinking I would not take pictures, but some of the dishes cried out to be photographed. For example, this seasonal white asparagus appetizer:

and this amazing onion appetizer, where the onions are somehow liquefied on the interior creating what amounts to onion profiteroles without the pastry shell,

not to mention the grilled and glazed pigeon with truffles, turnips and olives,

and cherries barely cooked in their own juice, scented with kirsch and served in a pistachio ice cream crust.

About This Blog

This blog records my thoughts and experiences relating to cooking, eating, restaurants, food products and ingredients, kitchen equipment and other matters relating to cuisine.
I do not offer reviews of New York restaurants; there are already enough reviewers and points of view. I will, however, discuss things that I discover at restaurants that may be of interest to others. I will offer brief reviews of selected Paris restaurants, as I am often asked for suggestions by people planning trips to that marvelous and beautiful city. In particular, I report from time to time on my ongoing quest for excellent, reasonably-priced restaurants in Paris; fortunately, there are many.